The present disclosure is related to shaft assemblies having components mounted on a shaft and movable along the axis of the shaft. More specifically, the present disclosure is related to a shaft assembly having components mounted on the shaft that support radial and axial loads, the shaft configured so that the axial loads are transferred to the shaft.
Tapered retaining rings are used to remove axial endplay of components mounted on a shaft through an external ring. Tapered internal rings may be used inside a bore to reduce the endplay of components within the bore. Endplay refers to the movement of components mounted on a shaft or in a bore. Such movement occurs when the axial lengths of the components vary within a tolerance band. The stack-up of the tolerances results in a difference between the length of the stacked components and the distance between retainers used to hold the stacked components together. Such a difference results in unwanted movement of one or more of the components parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shaft or bore.
A shaft assembly within a transmission, for example, includes multiple components such as gears, clutches, and bearings. The components are mounted on the shaft and may have some freedom of movement along the shaft. An axial load is a load having a component parallel to the axis of the shaft. An axial load on one or more of the components tends to cause adjacent components to impart a force on one another. When endplay is present, the axial load may cause movement in the adjacent components, such as bearings, for example. Variation in the endplay of a bearing may tend to reduce the life of the bearing through excess load and heat.